Future Era(s) in CiV?

[Kissamies]

Battlemechs would be fine if plausibly explained:

-> heavy armor would make the ground pressure of their feet way too high, and make their knees/joints either very bulky or very vulnerable!
they are easy to spot, have limited speed (2 steps per second, 5m each = 10m/s = only 36km/h !!!!), and so on...

So a C&C "Titan" style mech is nothing for me.

But I would be totally fine with a walking robot that's not much bigger or heavier than a T-rex or mammoth, rather smaller and relies on stealth and mobility in difficult terrain rather than heavy armor. It could support infantry with heavier firepower than a man could carry (HMG, stingers,...) while following them through forests or mountainous area unsuitable for any wheeled/tracked vehicle.

gameplaywise, this unit would fit better if tanks actually had a disadvantage in forests or hills, like they have in real life. In Civ4 it's not really the case...

Battlemechs are cool, but hard to justify in realistic setting. Being upright makes them easier targets. The shape makes them harder to armor compared to a more or less box shaped tank. The propulsion system and controls are unnecessarily complicated.

Battlesuits/armored exoskeleton are more plausible as extensions of personal body armor. I wouldn't mind seeing those if the game goes that far in future era. IMO, t's more SMAC type material, though.

 

[Gedemo]

I 'd prefer an extended stone age, with nomadism, mammoth hunting, cave paintings...

 

[Danielos]

I 'd prefer an extended stone age, with nomadism, mammoth hunting, cave paintings...

That´s a good idea. However, since the city is kind of the basis of the engine, it might get hard to work. Maybe we can start as Australopithecines 2 mya and play for hours just hiding in the forests and fighting animals...

 

[Thormodr]

I 'd prefer an extended stone age, with nomadism, mammoth hunting, cave paintings...

That would be awesome. Would Mammoth herds become obsolete with the discovery of hunting?

 

[Danielos]

That would be awesome. Would Mammoth herds become obsolete with the discovery of hunting?

Actually a dwarf variety of the wooly mammoths survived as recently as 1500 BC in remote islands along the Russian arctic coast.

 

[Canadian Empire]

i think it would be great only if they didnt put a turn limit and the technology that ur talking about was a bit more tuned down.

 

[Ribannah]

From my wishlist for Civ3

(F01 = Superconductor)
(F02 = Environmentalism)
F03 = Cargo Pipeline (allows pipelines)
(F04 = Fusion Power)
F05 = Nanotechnology (can build Replicator)
F06 = Artificial Intelligence (can build Wheather Control Satellite)
F07 = Regeneration
F08 = Arcologies (can build Arcology)
F09 = Hydrogen Engine (world wonder: Gaia Charter)
F10 = Global Network (world wonder: World Government)
F11 = Virtual Reality (can build: Holodeck)
F12 = Unified Field Theory (can build: Forcefield)
F13 = Global Marketing (can build: Auction Platform)
F14 = Somnology (world wonder: Otherworld Dawn)


To add to modern era: Pharmacology, Social Security, Tourism, Ceramics, Optical Fibre, Cybernetics.

 

[Ikael]

I am a big fan of progressing beyond the current technology, albeit nothing too crazy. Thing is, yes, this is an historic simulator. A historic simulator whose main attractive (to me) is to be able to create a more glorious, better civilization than the current one that we have. In the same way that II love to create a city where I can visit the Colossus, the Sixtine Chapel and the Empire State, I can also be able to create a reality where the Internet was common on the 40s and where the technology on the 2000 is more advanced than the one we have today.

About the future technologies, I would like to have some like these:

- Cold fussion - Production related
- Hydrogen fuel cell - Less dependence on fossil fuels
- Nanoalloys (think carbon nanotubes) - Production related
- IA Singularity - Reserach / military related tech
- Mind - computer interface - Happiness / reserach related
- Genetic design - growth / happiness related
- Mega structures (think 5 gorges damm or Dubai) - culture / production related
- Copyleft - Culture related
- Electromagnetic railgun - Military related

 

[Takeda]

Ugh I can't believe there's so much support for continuing past the modern era. I'm a big fan of science fiction myself, but Civilization is a HISTORICAL sim. Nobody knows what the future is going to be like - it would be difficult to avoid it being horribly inaccurate, uninformed, and cheesy, and if there were ever a future era, the debates about whether what is in the game is actually accurate or believable would be endless. Future eras should be saved for the mods.

what this guy said

It's quite disheartening to see so much support for such a terrible idea, on CivFanatics of all places. It's a HISTORICAL strategy game, not a scifi game. I don't mind a few speculative technologies, but they shouldn't go overboard and make an entire future era. Maybe a single mech unit and a single laser defense tower or something, but it really shouldn't contain much more than that.

And space colonization? So you want to staple an entirely different game onto the end of civilization!? They should just stick to the current timeline. As others have said, leave the rest to mods.

 

[Dryhad]

That´s a good idea. However, since the city is kind of the basis of the engine, it might get hard to work. Maybe we can start as Australopithecines 2 mya and play for hours just hiding in the forests and fighting animals...

There was a mod back in Civ II where you started off as bacteria and the tech tree was an evolutionary tree.

 

[Danielos]

what this guy said

It's quite disheartening to see so much support for such a terrible idea, on CivFanatics of all places. It's a HISTORICAL strategy game, not a scifi game. I don't mind a few speculative technologies, but they shouldn't go overboard and make an entire future era. Maybe a single mech unit and a single laser defense tower or something, but it really shouldn't contain much more than that.

And space colonization? So you want to staple an entirely different game onto the end of civilization!? They should just stick to the current timeline. As others have said, leave the rest to mods.

I think many players get miffed that when you are in the middle of an exciting late game, the tech tree suddenly just stops and the history you are writing just ends. Instead you just put science to 0, and spend the rest on luxuries and taxes and the game is ruined...

 

[Fabien]

I think many players get miffed that when you are in the middle of an exciting late game, the tech tree suddenly just stops and the history you are writing just ends. Instead you just put science to 0, and spend the rest on luxuries and taxes and the game is ruined...

That's just how the game is designed, most of the time you'll actually manage to finish a good part of the technology tree before someone wins the game.

I'd like some "future" additions like next generation jet fighters, tanks, remotely controlled battle drones and maybe an invention like railguns (Which are already being tested). And maybe add something after mechanised / modern Infantry...
iI'm unsure what I'd like as additional technologies, what did we really discover between 1990 and 2010 for example? Cell phones? Somehow I find it quite hard to match current technologies to fit civilization in any meaningful way, especially since all military devoplement seems to have ended anyway. (No I have no Idea, but it certainly feels like it. I can't tell the difference anyway)

 

[Kissamies]

F09 = Hydrogen Engine (world wonder: Gaia Charter)

That's not a bad idea, but personally I think it should be "Advanced Batteries" implying electric vehicles. Currently it seems that electric cars are closer in the future than the hydrogen powered ones. It's the batteries that's holding them down and some advances are being made.

The effect of this tech could be:
1. No traffic based unhealth (if the city has a power plant).
2. Can build vehicle units without oil resource.

If there were battlesuit tech (probably Advanced Robotics or something like that), this might be a prerequisite.

I always kinda liked the Arcologies too.

 

[Takeda]

I think many players get miffed that when you are in the middle of an exciting late game, the tech tree suddenly just stops and the history you are writing just ends. Instead you just put science to 0, and spend the rest on luxuries and taxes and the game is ruined...

As someone else has suggested, don't remember who, one solution to this would be adding several repeating future techs, instead of one generic repeating future tech.

You could have a repeating military strength tech, a repeating economic efficiency tech, a repeating health tech, etc.

Keep in mind that no matter what they do players will often run out the tech tree before they finish a game. This solution would at least provide some strategic decision making with repeatable future techs

 

[kivanc]

hey OP. why don't you just say "we want SMAC 2"
if u haven't played SMAC, you should. it is still not late.

 

[Ribannah]

Another solution would be that you gain a scientific victory by reaching the end of the technology tree.

 

[Intellectus]

That's just how the game is designed, most of the time you'll actually manage to finish a good part of the technology tree before someone wins the game.

I'd like some "future" additions like next generation jet fighters, tanks, remotely controlled battle drones and maybe an invention like railguns (Which are already being tested). And maybe add something after mechanised / modern Infantry...
iI'm unsure what I'd like as additional technologies, what did we really discover between 1990 and 2010 for example? Cell phones? Somehow I find it quite hard to match current technologies to fit civilization in any meaningful way, especially since all military devoplement seems to have ended anyway. (No I have no Idea, but it certainly feels like it. I can't tell the difference anyway)

Cell phone was made mainstream in the late 80s but it had some working prototypes in the early 70s.

Anyway, I would like to go right to 3000 AD.

 

[bob rulz]

That's just how the game is designed, most of the time you'll actually manage to finish a good part of the technology tree before someone wins the game.

I'd like some "future" additions like next generation jet fighters, tanks, remotely controlled battle drones and maybe an invention like railguns (Which are already being tested). And maybe add something after mechanised / modern Infantry...
iI'm unsure what I'd like as additional technologies, what did we really discover between 1990 and 2010 for example? Cell phones? Somehow I find it quite hard to match current technologies to fit civilization in any meaningful way, especially since all military devoplement seems to have ended anyway. (No I have no Idea, but it certainly feels like it. I can't tell the difference anyway)

Speculative/experimental technology is fine.

Science fiction is not.

 

[Ramesses]

Speculative/experimental technology is fine.

Science fiction is not.

This. If it is entirely plausible that the technology could be developed within the next 50-100 years, by all means it should be included. It will become a part of human history soon enough.

 

[DPyro]

Another solution would be that you gain a scientific victory by reaching the end of the technology tree.

Maybe make it a team project you have to complete.
Team Project: "Ascension", can only start creating it at one the very last techs

Some plausible units that can be included:
UAV: A helicopter-type unit, does not cause war weariness.
Amphibious Armor: basically an upgrade to Marines, can travel either on land or by coast (like a trireme). Can be transported across the ocean.
Suborbital Bomber: Bomber that can attack anywhere on the map with a high chance of evading interception, but expensive. Probably needs an additional drawback.
Satellite: Reconnaissance: Gain visibility over its orbit. Can have minor diplomatic drawbacks.
Satellite: Military: Laser satellite or something. Can attack in a large radius from its current location in orbit. Constructing one can result in severe diplomatic penalities (militarization of space!)
Augmented Infantry: Basically a beefed-up Infantry. 1 move. Supposed to represent soldiers augmented with biomilitary technology, but not fully suited.
Armored Infantry: Upgrade for Augmented Infantry, is fully suited but is pretty much the same thing. Immune to radiation/biological weapons/whatever.
Special Forces: Commando, invisible unless stumbled upon by an enemy unit. Can gather intel, pillage specific improvements, and possible incite rebellion forces. Weak but has +100% attack against infantry-type units.
EMP: Like tactical nuke, except no nuclear diplomatic penalty, fallout, etc.Advanced city improvements are nonfunctional for 2 turns. Causes a small amount of damage to advanced military units. Will destroy all UAVs caught in its blast radius.